Where to, Now?
by Tobi888
Summary: One Shot. Ash's father has just conquered the Silver League Conference of Johto, and now Solomon poses the question, "Where to, now?" after Ash's father claims he will not be defending his title, and that he will keep on travelling. Ash's father has an answer. A prequel of sorts to 'Solomon the Gallant'. More details inside.


**I know, y'all are due for an update with 'Six Years', but major 'renovations' are being done with Chapter Three. More details are on my Profile. Anyway… This is a sorta-kinda-but-not-really sequel to 'Solomon the Gallant'. Well, I guess I should say 'prequel', given that this takes place years before Ash is born… **_**But it's set in a different universe from 'Solomon the Gallant', too… **_**Sorry, wanted to emphasize that, so you guys wouldn't get confused.**__**All the same, this serves as a prelude to a relatively new joint project, headed up by me and another author, EliteKessu. EliteKessu will have her own characters for the project, so I'll only be focusing on introducing my characters here. The characters that are protagonists, anyway. Much of the project has been planned out, so writing can be commenced, perhaps, sometime later this year. This will be short and sweet, and won't really have a point, except to give y'all a sneak peek of the 'Big Joint Project', which isn't related to my 'Big Idea'. Much. **

** Anyway… Enough jibber-jabber. On with the One Shot… **

A raven-haired young lad sat perched on the stairs leading to the Pokemon League – where the Silver League Conference had just taken place a few nights before. The boy – well, young man, because he was seventeen – wore a gray robe that only went down to about his knees, black shirt and black pants underneath, and wooden sandals on his feet. His red bag, which he used to carry around his essentials, sat beside him, and his belt which held his Pokeballs lay on top of it.

The young man was white, but not pale like a ghost. He exuded life, and his gray eyes burst with energy. His black hair wasn't all tamed, but the man didn't mind. He didn't care much for looks, as his mind was often on other things, like traversing the earth and bringing peace, settling disputes.

Nagato was the young man's name. Nagato Ketchum. At fourteen, Nagato conquered the Indigo League in Kanto, and now, at seventeen, he had taken the Silver League Conference by storm. His purpose for competing was, naturally, to keep his Pokemon in pique condition, and to catch and train Pokemon from other regions.

Now, Nagato wouldn't be where he was in the present day without his sensei, Solomon, otherwise known as the 'Water Sage'. Solomon had been with Nagato ever since Nagato had first challenged the Indigo League and failed. Under Solomon's tutelage, and with his knack of never giving up, Nagato became a respectable trainer in his own right, and managed to come out on top in the Indigo League on his second attempt. Nagato had been travelling with two other trainers from the first day he left Pallet Town, but those two trainers split off from the group, because they had new duties after they had participated in the Indigo League a second time with Nagato.

After splitting up with his old travelling buddies, Nagato opted to go to the Johto region to claim the Championship there. Solomon tagged along with him. Nagato took four more years to train under Solomon, but he succeeded after participating in the Silver League Conference just one time.

And now here he was, sitting outside the Pokemon League, relaxing – at least for the moment. There had been cause for celebration, but Nagato stated that he would not be retaining his Championship title, because he still had much to see in the world, and he would be leaving Johto in the next couple of days to travel to his new destination. Nagato did not plan to take anytime off, because he didn't have a home to return to, really. Nagato became an orphan at age ten, and began travelling soon after, to escape the loneliness he felt in his hometown.

Solomon had been supportive of Nagato throughout their travels. Though Solomon had a quirk with his addiction to writing pervy books, Nagato didn't mind, as long as said writing didn't get in the way of furthering his training, and keeping his Pokemon sharp. Solomon hadn't intended to write pervy books for a living – but when his first book, which was about what a trainer needs to make it in the world and to make a difference, didn't sell very well, Solomon sort of dropped his 'serious' stance to writing, and promptly switched to a 'naughtier' style, which made his books sell like hotcakes, and made him very, very rich.

Besides writing books, Solomon was an exceptional trainer of Water-type Pokemon. He had traversed the regions a few times, but not enough ground covered to say that he had been around the world quite yet, and had raised his Pokemon to be true 'powerhouses', each in their own way. He'd participated in tournaments, even before Nagato was born, and earned his reputation as 'the Water Sage'. Though now Solomon was becoming less and less known in the Pokemon world, as he was beginning to transition into the 'easy' life of a travelling author, who constantly gave Nagato advice during training. However, even though he was allowing his reputation to be forgotten, Solomon kept his Pokemon in peak condition. The G-Men had approached him a time or two, but he turned them down, whenever he was offered a job as a G-Man.

At the moment, Solomon is leaning against a pole, which isn't far away from Nagato at all. His student had claimed two Championships now, and he couldn't have been more proud. Solomon was fine with being a spectator, as it gave him more time to write his books. Though it was through watching Nagato battle that Solomon felt inspired to keep his Pokemon in peak condition.

A question loomed over Solomon, though… Nagato said he'd be headed out to a new region within the next couple of days. But Solomon couldn't recall there being any ferries leaving Johto, not until sometime next week. Solomon supposed now was the time to prompt Nagato about it.

"So, kid… Where to now? You've claimed the Championship in Johto, fine, I'm happy for you, but you stated that we were gonna keep moving… So what region do you have in mind…?"

Nagato chuckled and crossed his arms. Nagato knew Solomon would get around to asking this. He wanted to surprise Solomon, but Nagato also knew keeping Solomon in the dark would be impossible. So, Nagato told Solomon outright.

"… We're going to Hoenn," Nagato spoke calmly, clearly, and with certainty. "Ol' Ko-Ko was able to hook us up with a ride. It'll be here in two days, and we'll be in Hoenn three days from now. That okay…?"

Solomon rubbed his chin and looked thoughtful.

"Hoenn, huh…? You haven't been there before… Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from my #1 Knuckleheaded Apprentice. You want to see the world, and I can appreciate that. You sure you wanna be so far away from home…?"

Nagato frowned, but answered neutrally.

"Solomon… You know I don't exactly have a home to go to anymore…" Nagato shook his head and smiled. "… Besides. Who knows who we'll meet in a fascinating region like Hoenn? I've heard much about it, while travelling through Johto, y'know. I hear a lot of smart people are over there – and tough trainers. And best of all: There's been reports of some villain inconveniencing people's lives, and disturbing the peace. Sounds like Hoenn could use our help, don'tcha think?"

Solomon shrugged and crossed his arms.

"It's your call. I'm fine with wherever we go – I'm familiar with Hoenn, and I even have a log cabin somewhere over there. I haven't been over there since before you were born, mind you, but I really wouldn't mind visiting that place again. It'd be nostalgic, and there's no doubt I'd get new inspiration for my upcoming book…"

Solomon chortled after saying that last part. Nagato rolled his eyes, but dropped his arms and leaned them on the stair behind him.

"Well, it's settled, then. Hoenn it is. I look forward to it."

Solomon smiled and glanced up at the sky. The sun was setting, and the skies were clear and a beautiful orange and yellow combination. His thoughts drifted back to his last time in Hoenn, and how he knew Nagato would enjoy the region. Hoenn had been the place where Solomon had written and published his first book, during his last trip there, and had been the first region that he visited outside of his home region, Kanto. Solomon enjoyed Hoenn so much that he'd visited the region a few times in all his years of travelling. It was definitely a place to check out, whether you were a trainer or not.

Solomon didn't even have to wonder if Nagato would leave an impact there – he already knew for a fact that his student would.

… Not that Solomon would ever openly admit that to Nagato or anything. Nagato was a great kid, student, and friend, but Solomon had an 'image' to maintain… Even if Solomon was a fatherly figure at the same time. Argh! Maintaining an 'image' and being there as a mentor and as a fatherly figure was complicated. There were just some things that you didn't admit to even yourself, y'know? Kids were supposed to be brats that grew irritated easily and threw tantrums because of it, and were easily moved to tears, right?

Not that Solomon was thinking about this at all. Nope.

_If I have to mentor another little brat, I think I'm gonna scream... _

... But he'd be happy, too, even if he didn't want to admit it.

Solomon groaned outwardly while still gazing up at the sky. Nagato gave his sensei a confused glance, but Solomon didn't notice. He was too lost in his conflicting thoughts… Or what he WANTED to be his 'conflicting' thoughts, anyway…

_Darn you, Nagato… You've grown on me…!_

**Fin**


End file.
